San Jose housing project site that’s up for sale avoids default

SAN JOSE — The owner of a downtown San Jose housing development site has avoided a foreclosure on the property for a second time as efforts have begun to find a buyer for the land.

A lender cancelled a notice of default for a loan to finance a housing development at 51 and 65 Notre Dame Ave., according to documents on file with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.

West Coast Community Bank filed the loan default on Sept. 12 against the property, county real estate files show. West Coast was previously known as Santa Cruz County Bank, which in 2021 provided a $10 million loan to finance the property.

The property has been in default on its loan twice. The first default occurred in August 2024. In both instances, the lender rescinded the default.

Separately, the property’s owner, an affiliate of Acquity Realty, has been attempting to find a buyer for the development site, according to a marketing brochure floated by commercial real estate firms Newmark and Kidder Mathews.

Acquity Realty has proposed two distinctly different plans for the property.

Originally, it envisioned a mixed-use tower that would have included ground-floor retail, five floors of offices, and 12 floors of housing with 290 residences. The most recent version of the project envisions a significantly shorter residential complex with 148 units.

In 2021, the Acquity Realty affiliate paid $20 million for the property, which once was the site of Andy’s Pet Shop.

The real estate firm now hopes to sell the site for $12.5 million.

Despite the financial uncertainties that loom, the seller asserts that the 0.7-acre property is in an ideal San Jose location.

“51 Notre Dame Avenue offers residents the perfect balance, a superb residential experience in a vibrant, walkable neighborhood,” marketing materials state.